The Rajasthan government has clarified that no person holding a valid pass would be stopped at the inter-state borders. This comes after long queues and hold-ups were reported on Friday as the police stopped people from entering the state after an order to seal borders was issued on Thursday.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that people are not being stopped. Instead, he said that the process was being facilitated and that migrants could go to their homes after getting the requisite permission according to Government of India guidelines.
Addressing a meeting to review the novel coronavirus situation in the state, Gehlot said, “A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been released to facilitate inter-state and inter district movement as per the directions of Government of India. Instructions have been issued for setting up special cells at district level to issue e-passes.”
He appealed to the migrant labourers to not leave on foot and wait for permissions to come back to the state and assured them that the state government is making all efforts to procure NOC for their travel. The Chief Minister informed that 18 lakh people have registered on the state government portal for inter-state travel. Out of these, 11 lakh people want to come into the state and bringing home this huge number is not possible till the lockdown ends and regular mode of travel like buses, trains and flights begin operating.
“Priority should be given to those pilgrims, tourists and businessmen who have been stranded outside the state due to lockdown and Government of India has given permission for them to go to their home places. I again urge the rest of the migrants to be patient and stay where they are. Also, any person coming into the state would be quarantined for 14 days, so do not be in a haste to come,” said Chief Minister Gehlot.
